Lawsuits target ‘watered-down’ Bud

Beer lovers across the US have filed $5 million class-action lawsuits accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser.
Photo: AP

by
Sophia Pearson

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer, is being sued by consumers in three US states for allegedly overstating the alcohol content in its Budweiser beer.

The company routinely adds extra water to its finished products to produce malt beverages with significantly less alcohol content than displayed on its labels, violating state statutes on consumer protection, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Philadelphia. Similar lawsuits were filed in federal courts in New Jersey and San Francisco.

“AB’s customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell," Thomas and Gerald Greenberg said in the Philadelphia complaint.

AB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois, controls 39 per cent of the US beer market. The company is seeking government approval to buy the rest of Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s largest beer maker, for $US20.1 billion. The Modelo brands account for 7 per cent of the US market.

The claims against Anheuser-Busch were “completely false", Peter Kraemer, the company’s vice-president of brewing and supply, said in an email. “Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labelling laws," he said. “We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers."

Budweiser, the No. 3 beer in the US in 2011, was introduced in 1876 when company founder Adolphus Busch set out to create a national beer brand, according to the Anheuser-Busch website. Each batch of the beer, which blends American aroma hops with barley malts and rice, follows the same family recipe used by five generations of brewmasters.